NASA begins CHAPEA-1: Four volunteers locked inside Mars Simulator for 378 days! Here’s all about the mission

financialexpress.com:

NASA on June 25, 2023, locked four volunteers inside a Mars simulator for 378 days as part of its CHAPEA 1 mission. This is the first of the three simulators that NASA will be undertaking. 

Volunteers of the CHAPEA 1 mission

The first of the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) mission saw four volunteers get into the simulator. The volunteers are as follows

Kelly Haston- CHAPEA mission 1 commander

Ross Brockwell- The Flight Engineer of the mission

Nathan Jones- CHAPEA mission 1 medical officer

Anca Selariu- Mission’s science officer

There will be a total of three CHAPEA missions with four crew members living in Mars Dune Alpha, an isolated 1,700 square foot habitat. The analog mission 1 began on June 25, 2023.

The other two missions, analog mission 2 and 3, will be starting in 2025 and 2026, respectively.

NASA says the learnings from the missions could “impact future NASA missions”, which include its missions to those that will occur on Mars’ surface.

The CHAPEA is a series of missions that will allow volunteers to be placed in simulated year-long stays on the Martian surface. The crew will be conducting simulated spacewalks and gather data on a variety of factors, including physical and behavioral health and performance. 

The Mars Dune Alpha is a 3D printed structure which will simulate a realistic Martian habitat. Its design was made in such a way that crew members get separate areas within the habitat for living and working.

It will have private crew quarters, a kitchen and dedicated areas for medical, fitness, recreation, crop growth activities and two bathrooms, along with a technical work area.

In order to get the most accurate data possible, the habitat will be kept as close to Mars’ condition